Freeman: Rewarded for strong week

Braves first baseman named NL Player of the Week

In winning the National League Player of the Week Award, it was one of those weeks where everything felt right. I was able to go line-to-line at the plate. It's a key for me to stay in there on left-handers and to shoot the ball out to left and then out to right. It is always nice to hit line drives, and when I am hitting line drives to left field, that is when I'm feeling my best.

I think I have been saying that for three years now -- when I go to left field, good results show.

Winning the award is pretty cool, and when I found out that one of my teammates, Michael Bourn, was a finalist, I decided right away that there would not be any sort of bragging rights. He was unbelievable this past week, just hitting and hitting and hitting. He also played great defense, and he stole some bags. That is who Michael Bourn is.

I didn't know about winning the award until Monday morning. I came to the field and was told the news. I also heard Michael was a finalist. Juan Francisco, who hit three homers for our club, was also great. He also was a finalist. It has been a complete team effort this past week.

When I look at some of the things that I have accomplished so far in my young career, this is one of the things that goes right up there. But the best thing is that we won five games last week. That is what is most important to me. It is fun; it is nice to receive something like this. I don't know if I get a trophy or a plaque or whatever -- but it ends pretty quickly, and it is on to baseball again the next night.

It was also sort of cool to have some success with my dad and mom in attendance during the games in Arizona. To get a hit in front of my dad is exciting for me, and in Arizona, I played a few good games in front of him. It is great to see him with a smile on his face. Then, my parents followed us to Dodger Stadium. They are on this entire trip. I was hoping that our team could keep it going so they can enjoy some wins, too. They tend to bring us good luck.

Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was named the National League Player of the Week on Monday. He hit .478 (11-for-23) and recorded five multi-RBI games. The Braves went 5-1 during that time.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.